The Suns will open the 2018-19 regular season at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m., in the second game of a doubleheader broadcast by ESPN and FSAZ.

The matchup features the debuts of the No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton and the No. 3 overall pick Luka Doncic, while on the other end of the spectrum, Dirk Nowitzki will be playing in his 21st season, setting a league record for consecutive seasons with a single team.

Phoenix will be one of five teams — the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks — who did not make the playoffs last season with a national TV game during opening week.

As a bonus for Arizona sports fans, the game is scheduled for Wednesday Oct. 17 instead of Thursday Oct. 18, when Arizona State hosts Stanford at Sun Devil Stadium at 6 p.m., the Arizona Cardinals host the Denver Broncos at 5:20 p.m. and the Arizona Coyotes play the Chicago Blackhawks at 5:30 p.m.